Why Student Politics Remains Essential for National Progress

‘To say that schools should remain twelve hands away from politics is bourgeois hypocrisy. The very bourgeoisie who advocate this theory want to make the educational system a foundation for bourgeois politics, shrinking schools into centers for training obedient and qualified servants. They even want to reduce the universal recognition of education to a center for creating slaves who serve capital and are trained as obedient, qualified servants of the bourgeoisie.’ This is a quote by Lenin.

Lenin said this before 1954. Today is 2026. It has been over 72 years since Lenin expressed this view. Perhaps even then, there was a debate about whether students should engage in politics. Lenin's statement provides sufficient evidence as to why such debates were baseless even back then. However, this debate remains as relevant today as it was when it first began.

It is often argued that educational institutions are zones of peace and therefore should be free from politics, as if politics were a campaign to disrupt peace. Furthermore, arguments are heard that politics ruins students' studies and their future. Even many students themselves have come to view politics as a subject of hatred. Amidst all this debate, this article will discuss why students should engage in politics.

• Politics for Personality Development

Even if we consider the educational sector merely as a place to build a foundation for employment, as the bourgeoisie suggests, it is necessary for students to learn politics. Politics is not just about becoming a ward chair, mayor, member of parliament, or minister; it is equally essential for managing institutions and organizations. To become a headmaster, campus chief, manager, CEO, or director, students need political awareness. Political consciousness develops an individual's capacity for organizational management, decision-making, communication, and risk-taking. Consequently, any institution or organization led by a mature individual can achieve high and effective performance.

Politics is the master policy of all policies. Engaging in politics while studying makes students aware of their role in creating an educational environment. Ironically, we do not always find a complete educational environment when we come to study. We face issues like library problems, drinking water, quality canteens, clean toilets, lack of sports equipment, and teacher-related problems. These are obstacles to our personality development. To speak out against this situation, to place demands, and to ensure those demands are addressed, students must be united and organized, which is impossible without politics.

School is a place for us to learn. Students should be able to learn every subject here, including politics. Learning politics is linked to a student's personality development. If students learn politics from a young age and eventually become good leaders, let alone ruining their studies and future, they will be in a position to guarantee a beautiful life for the country and its people.

• Student Politics to Pierce Conspiracies

As Lenin said 72 years ago, the bourgeoisie only wants to make students their obedient and qualified clerks. For that, students are forced to learn through a curriculum based on sin, religion, subject morality, superstition, hollow emotions, and rote learning. While studying, most are in a position where they cannot dream of anything beyond getting a job tomorrow. Now, students should not accept this situation. Certainly, someone has to do a job, but it is not appropriate for the modern era that all students have no option other than employment.

The world reached the moon long ago. Research on Mars is being conducted from various angles. But our education system has yet to break the cycle of struggling just for survival. We study to get a job tomorrow only to run our households. Humanity has been running households for millions of years. The responsibility of today's students is to study, research, and make scientific inventions for the world's progress. But our education system does not provide that opportunity. Certainly, this depiction is bleak, but it is the reality.

Our education system is not so backward and useless because there are no other options. The owners of capital want to produce obedient and qualified workers from schools. This is the product of the petty desires of the bourgeoisie. They want to stop students from learning anything new and oppose politics in schools. But that is an even greater conspiratorial politics. Shrinking all students who entered school with hopes of a bright future to serve only their interests is no small politics. Therefore, all students must understand this politics to counter this criminal politics.

• Rights and Student Politics

From experience, we are clear that bodies wanting to keep students away from politics cannot ensure students' rights. Given the state of the country, there is no situation where students can easily find jobs after graduation. We have seen many of our seniors having to go abroad in frustration after completing their studies. To ensure that we do not have to go abroad like that tomorrow, and to ensure that after spending our important time, energy, and investment in education, we can apply what we have learned for the benefit of our own country, we must think for ourselves.

Educational institutions that try to stop students from doing politics, management committees, and any government run by people we have trusted and elected—such as local levels, provincial governments, and the federal government—are not working to create an environment where we can easily find jobs tomorrow.

And although education is called a fundamental right in our country's constitution, in practice, education has been made so expensive that we start feeling stressed just thinking about tuition fees. On one hand, the economic condition of citizens is weak due to the state of the country, and on the other, there are expensive educational fees. It is necessary for the state to invest heavily in students for the country's development and prosperity.

For this reason, the educational system has become very expensive. Many of our friends who should be ready to serve the country after studying with us have not been able to study due to a lack of money. Politics is necessary to make education a fundamental right in practice as provided by the constitution, to ensure all our friends can study, and to create an environment where they can apply their knowledge and skills to the progress of this country after graduation.

• Student Politics for Fulfilling Responsibilities

The situation has placed a great responsibility on the shoulders of students. Our country is below the poverty line on the world map today. Similarly, all the problems faced by the country, the people, and the students—such as inflation, corruption, fraud, unemployment, frustration, youth migration, and foreign interference—are all caused by bad politics. The entire country wants liberation from these problems. Therefore, it is necessary to make our politics right. The responsibility to make politics right lies on the shoulders of students in schools and universities.

As discussed above, doctors, pilots, lawyers, teachers, and scientists come from students; similarly, politicians also come from students. Unlike before, no one goes directly to the fields and factories now. The person who will be a farmer or worker tomorrow is in school today. Nowadays, almost everyone studies up to the secondary level. Therefore, students must provide capable leaders to replace the corrupt, broker, and degenerate class currently in the country's politics.

In short, it is the responsibility of students to struggle for the establishment of a correct political system and to work tirelessly to become good leaders, bringing the country from the clutches of wrong politics and bad leaders under the guidance of correct politics and good leaders.

In history, student politics has been fulfilling such responsibilities. In the past, students have made great struggles and sacrifices to overthrow political tyranny. The student movement has contributed significantly to the Rana regime, the Panchayat system, and other just movements. The great martyrs who sacrificed their lives in those struggles, such as Ganga Lal Shrestha, Chiniya Kaji, Mitramani Poudel, Dil Bahadur Ramtel, Benoj Adhikari, Prajol Shahi, and thousands of other students, are the proud constellations of this movement.

The talk of abolishing the student movement, while devaluing the role they played in change, seems like a present cut off from history and a tree trying to stand without roots. Even today, one thing is clear: no matter how much the abolition of the student movement is chanted, when the country is in crisis, this movement will organize itself and reach the streets, and it is certain to chart the course for a new Nepal.

(Kapil C is the Central Secretary of Akhil Samajwadi.)